Combined pole-safety and antirattler



(No Model V HARTMAN. COMBINED POLE SAFETY AND ANTIRATTLER. No. 582,738. Patented May18,1897.V

NITED I STATES ATENT FFICE.

COMBINED POLE-SAFETY AND ANTIRATTLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 582,738, dated May 18, 1897.

Application filed February 1, 1897. Serial No. 621,489. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom, it meaty concern:

Beit known that I, VALENTINE IIARTMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Yorkville, in the county of Kendall and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pole-safeties and Autirattlers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in pole or tongue attachments for vehicles; and it has for its object to improve that class of devices by providing a cheap and simple means whereby the cross-bar or neck-yoke will be prevented from leaving the tongue should the traces of the draft-animals become detached.

A further object of the invention is to adapt such means for connection with the tongue, so as to serve the additional function of an antirattler for the yoke.

Other objects and advantages Will appear from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a partof a vehicle-tongue and aneck-yoke with my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the neck-yoke, partly broken away, with the tongue and spring in section.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, A indicates a tongue or pole, which may be of the form and construction usually employed, and B indicates the neck-yoke, which may be mainly of the ordinary construction. The tongue is provided with the usual holdback a, and at a suitable distance from its forward end on its upper side it is provided with a hook b, which is disposed downwardly and rearwardly, although I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the particular form or construction of the hook employed.

The neckyoke is provided at a central point with two depending lug-eyes c, which hang from a plate which is in turn secured to the neck-yoke by means of screws or other suitable fastening devices.

0 indicates a metallic eye or loop which is designed to receive the forward end of the pole or tongue and contact with the holdback.

This eye is provided on its upper side with two laterally-disposed lug-journals e, which pass into the lug-eyes c and have a bearing therein, so that the tongue will swing from the neck-yoke and be supported thereby.

D indicates a casting which is secured to the neckyoke at the central portion and may straddle the clip or plate carrying the lugjournals. This casting is of aform substantially as shown, having the vertical branches .7; which terminate in flanges g, and which flanges are recessed or rounded at or on their under sides, so as to bear snugly upon the neck-yoke, and they are secured to the neckyoke by screws or other suitable fastening devices. The casting has a portion 71., which may be rounded in cross-section and parallel with the neck-yoke.

E indicates a spring, which is here shown as composed of wire, although it may be formed of other suitable material. This spring is designed to connect the neck-yoke with the pole or tongue of the vehicle, so that should the horses become detached or one or more traces casually become disconnected the yoke will be prevented from leaving the tongue and the tongue consequently sustained in an operative position.

In forming a spring of Wire I take a piece of sufficient length, and after securing both ends to the casting D by placing such ends into holes therein or otherwise fixing them I wrap or coil the wire two, more or less, times on the rounded portion h of the casting, after which I twist the central portion so as to terminate the same in an eye or loop j, by which connection is made through the medium of a ring with the hook I) on the tongue or pole.

When the piece of wire forming the spring E is connected to the casting D and wrapped or coiled around the portion 7L thereof, said spring will extend upwardly from said casting D in a position approximately at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 1. Consequently it will be seen that when the spring E is pressed down into the position shown in Fig. 1 and the ring 7.: connected to hook I) said spring will be placed and held under tension, and by tending to raise its end to which the ring 70 is connected will hold the casting D tight against the eye C and said eye 0 in turn tight against the pole or tongue A, and in consequence will effectually prevent the objectionable rattling of such parts, which is an important advantage.

By the employment of the ring 7; or similar means for connecting the spring with the tongue it will be seen that there is suilicient play for the movements of the yoke, so that in its operation no injury will result to the spring.

The parts are all of simple and durable construction. They may be manufactured at a small expense and can be attached to tongues and yokes whether new or old.

Vhile I have shown and described the spring as being composed of wire, yet it is obvious that a flat or other spring suitable to the purposes of the invention might be employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination with a tongue and a neck-yoke having the casting and also provided with an eye to receive the tongue; of the spring connected with the casting, a hook on the tongue and a ring or a loop for connecting the spring, while under tension, with the hook, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the tongue and the neck-yoke; of the spring secured at one end to the neck-yoke and carrying a ring at its opposite end to be secured to a hook on the tongue, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with the neck-yoke and tongue; of the plate secured to the neck-yoke and carrying the depending lug-eyes, the eye for the tongue having lateral lug-journals to enter said eyes, the hook on the tongue and the casting on the yoke, the spring secured to the casting, and the ring for connecting the spring with the hook so as to hold said spring under tension, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of a tongue or pole, a neck-yoke, and a spring connected with the tongue orpole and the neck-yoke and adapted to hold the yoke against casual disconnection from the tongue or pole and also adapted to prevent rattling of said yoke, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VALEL TINE IIARTMAN.

\Vitnesses:

FRED. G. HILL, GEORGE H. SAXTON. 

